All For Revenge
by Marreli
Summary: Just a short Redwallish story... Kinda sad. Not the best writing of mine; wrote it about a year or so ago.


Okay... So it's not the best writing I've ever done, but, hey, we're not always all perfect. Wrote this a year or so ago... Now without further adieu:****

**All For Revenge**

Kendia crouched, petrified, in the concealing brush. The young mouse of nine seasons (18 human years) was covered in a cold sweat, her breathing shallow and quick, her heart pitter patting fearfully. It had been at least an hour since she had first come to her hiding place; she could no longer hear the screams and crying out. She thought she had heard the last of the vermin band pass by not too long ago. Still, she huddled, frightened.   
The mouse awoke with a start, the sky was now a splattering of oranges, yellows, and pinks, the sun sinking low below the horizon. It would soon be night. The murderers were gone. Gathering her courage, Kendia slowly crept out of her hiding place, muscles aching from hours of cramped confinement, her fine green silk tunic wrinkled and torn, her long raven-black headfur that was her pride was tangled and knotted. Catching a glance at the beautiful sunset, she couldn't help but be angry at the world, angry at God for making something so beautiful when those she held most dear to her she would never see alive again.   
Holding back tears, Kendia limped slowly along the short distance to the dirt road. When she broke free of the darkness of the forest to behold the path where it had taken place, she couldn't hold back the want to vomit. She turned her head and retched, but nothing came up, she hadn't eaten in days.   
Surrounded by the peaceful forest of Mossflower, the well-traveled dirt road was a scene of horror. Dark dried blood was splattered all around, and bodies of the squirrels, mice, and otters that had been Kendia's companions, friends, and family were each sprawled in pools of their own blood, guts, and entrails. The wagon canvases had been slashed and ripped and the wagons totally plundered of all valuables. Nobeast had been left alive.   
A groan startled Kendia. She had been wrong, somebeast was alive. Hurrying in the direction of the sound, she found the mangled body of her best friend, Nage. He stirred, and groaned again, blood frothing up from his mouth. A chunk of his scalp was missing, half of his right arm was gone at the elbow, and the rest of his body was totally unrecognizable due to the blood and gore that covered him from numerous wounds.   
The sight of Nage in such pain and torture tore Kendia's heart apart, now the tears came. Looking around at the remnants of the horrible slaughter made the tears flow harder, in gut-wrenching sobs. She dropped to her knees beside Nage, wrapping her arms around her friend in a last embrace. As she did, she produced her dagger, and slid it swiftly and easily into Nage's heart. She let the still body slide from her grasp, then stood.   
The very look of Kendia at this moment would send a chill to even the coldest vermin's heart. She stood tall in her blood-soaked tunic with her black headfur matted and tangled. Her delicate cream colored fur now stiff and black with blood, her green eyes wildly afire with the want for revenge, paws clenched into tight fists, the maid lifted her head to the starlit sky and shouted out, her hoarse voice bursting with anger and fury. "Do not think you are safe! I will get you! I will hunt you down! I will not rest until each and every one of you vermin is bathed in your own blood! On my oath to those you have killed, YOU WILL PAY!!!!!!!!!!!"   
Kendia saw the very end of a sword hilt wedged underneath one of the bodies, a weapon the vermin had missed taking for plunder. She thrust it through her belt, and went crashing through the forest foliage. 

Maddened with her fury and need to kill those who had murdered her traveling companions, Kendia pushed day and night for a solid two days. She did not stop to eat, she did not stop to sleep, she did not stop to rest, she did not stop for anything, her crazed anger pushed her on. 

*~~~*~~~* 

Benake the fox and his murdering, thieving band of five score vermin were gathered in and around the rather large clearing that they had designated as a temporary camp. Weasels, stoats, ferrets, rats, foxes, and vermin of every kind gathered around small fires, bickering, jeering, and betting on the prizes pilfered from small groups of beasts that they happened upon and murdered for their goods. It was their business, and they were good at it. All of the vermin were trained fighters, none of the stupid lot that don't know their tails from their heads. But even so, none of them heard the enraged mouse approaching until it was too late. 

*~~~*~~~* 

Kendia smelled the smoke from fires, heard the vermin, knew these where who she sought. Pulling her sword out silently, she crept up to the edge of the camp, and burst into the midst of the vermin without warning.   
She had never been much of a fighter or swordsbeast, but her anger lent her strength. As her sword swung mercilessly, weasels, rats, ferrets, and vermin of every kind where skewered and chopped, the red mist of the warriors' bloodwrath overcame Kendia, and she fought like twenty beasts as she had never before. The vermin didn't stand a chance. Even Benake fell to her sword. 

Kendia stood in the clearing, blood-covered and surrounded by dead vermin. She had kept her oath. She had revenged her dead loved ones. Looking about the clearing again, the bloodwrath slowly faded from Kendia, and she knew what she had done. "AAAAIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOYYYYYYY!!!!!!!" Her knees weakened and she collapsed, trembling and weeping unashamedly, the mouse came to a realization, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" The cry ripped from her throat, filled with anguish and sorrow. "Oh," she whispered, "Oh, I am no better than them. I am a murderer now too."   
She drew her dagger from it's small sheath on her leg, it was still crusted with Nage's blood. Lifting it up, she plunged the needle of death through her heart without a second thought; she had nothing to live for, and the thought that she was no better than her hated enemies grieved her. Kendia's body fell forward, the dagger still firmly planted in her flesh. She died a murderer that murdered to avenge murdered friends. 

_All this for revenge._


End file.
